Coil-handling apparatus



' Oct. 24, 1950 G. E. BRONSON 2,526,725

COIL-HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 31,.1949

FIG. 2

il/35a 25 F321 INVENTOR .GEORGE E. BRONSON ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 24, 1956 PATENT OFFICE V7 COIL-HANDLING APPARATUS George E. Bronson, Naugatuck, Conn.,assignr to A The American-Brass Companma corporation ofConnecticut v V a f Application August 31, 1949,":Serial N0. 113,457 a Claims. (o1.'2'94-'-s'7) .zeT-his invention relates to apparatus ,fory-hanr when .theapparatus; i raised by the lifting head, dl-ing: coiled materials. It-provides an improved the latter is brought to' its upper; position and formvzof'apparatusthat can be lowered: through thereby the latches are moved-into engagement the center of a stack of coils and thatv maythen with -the thrust rod, locking it at its lower limit, be actuated to "pick up the stack, or on which a so that the .feet ,are held in their lateral coil stack' of coils can be built, in eithercase for the supporting position. Separate lifting meansare piirposeof conveniently lifting and transporting attached directly to the upper end of thethrujst t irst-.301; as unit. rod, and when the apparatus iscarried by such Ma'nyzdifferent. articles. of commerce are hanseparate lifting means (in which case the lifting dled d'uring manufacturing operations, and for 10 head is held by. its own-weight at its lower posis'h'ipping 'andstorage purposes, in the form of tion and the latches consequently are notinlockcoilsf Metallic rods and wires, rope of various ing engagement with the thrust rod), the thrust types, and both metallic and non-metallic tubing, rod is raised to its upper-limit and the feet are are exam'ples ofjmaterials commonly handled in moved to their vertical retracted position.

the' 'form of coilsJ -Singlecoils often are conven- A preferred embodiment of lifting apparatus iently handled manually or by conventional crane according to the invention is shown in the accom hooksgbut lfor many purposes itis desirableto panying drawing, wherein: handlestacks of coils as a: unit. The present in- Fig. 1 is a cutaway perspective showing the new 'vention provides a" sturdy and 'easily operated apparatus as used for handling a stack OfyCOllS apparatus for" doing soj and'which may be used in-the closeconfines ofanarrowtank;

equallywell for handling stacks of coils either in Fig. 2 is an elevation partially in section show the'open orin'closelyconfined quarters. 1 ing the-coil-handling apparatus of Fig. 1 in-the Thelapparatus' of the invention v comprisesa positions-{in which its flfeet are laterally extended name adapted to' serve as aisupp'ortin g core for for supporting a stack of coils; 1 I a stack of coils and which may 'be lowered qFig. 3 is a.view similar to Fig, 2, but showin through'such a stack for the'purpose of picking the apparatus in the position in which itsfeet it up and; supporting it in stack form. A pluare in their retracted vertical position; 4 rality of feet are pivot-ally connected to the bot- Fig.4 is a cross section, taken substantially to'm'of the coil'frame. These feet are movable along the line 4'-4 of Fig. 2; and about s'uch pivotal connection between a lateral Fig. 5 is a view of the lower end of coil-handling p0sition wherein they project beyond the core apparatus havingfeet of somewhat different form frame'for supporting the bottom of a stack of than is shownin Figs. lto 3. coils 'anda vertical positionwherein they are retracted from such-' coil-supporting position and prises a, central vertical tube [0 which constitutes may be inserted into or'withd'rawnthrough the amain frame element. Attached tothe tubetlfl center openinglof the stack of coils. A thrust are upper and lower spiders H and [2, to which rodwhich -isavertica11y movable'with respect to inturn a plurality of spacer elements 13am ;sethe frame between upperandi lower limits is pivcured by pins Ho. ,The central. tube, thespiders, otally connected at its .lower 'end to said feet. I and thevspacer elements togetherj forrn frame Thereby movement ofthe thrust rod to its upper 4 structure adapted to serve aspa supporting core limit" causes the feet to be moved to theirv vertical for astackaofi coils; Thedistancejfrojm the outretracted'position, and movementk'ofithe thrust side, edge;-.qf any spacer l3 to theoutsideedge-of rod" to its lower limit. swings the'feet, to their thespacerdiametricallyopposite is only'a'little A less than the diameter of theucenter "openings. of

lateral coil sup'porting:position.v

One or more I latches are pivotally secured to the .poils to be handled, so that When'the coilsare the' frame near its'upper end in position to interstackedgaround the spacers, the stack of coils is look with the'thru'st rod when the latter is at its held up t thereby-V v Y 1 I lower'limit. Beneath the latches is a lifting head A thrust rod [4 is positioned axially within the which" is secured to the .frame and isvertically tube 10. and is movable with respect'thereto in an m'ovable thereon betweenan upperpositioniand 5 axial direction. The thrust; rod is of' somewhat a lower positiom l he latches are'solocated'with greater: length than the tube, and projects. from respect to thelifting head as to beengaged by it at both ends. 3 A A the latter and to be moved-thereby into "locking 1 I A plurality of feet I 5 are provided at the bottom relation 'with'the thrust rodv when the lifting head of v the apparatus The feet are members having isfraisedto' its.upper'positiolop In.conseq uence, more or less the form or a shallow inverted u The apparatus shown in the drawings com- (as seen in Fig. 2), and their inner legs l6 are attached by pivot pins i! to a spider l8 rigidly fastened to the lower end of the thrust rod M. The inner legs N of the feet are also provided with slots is through which pivot pins 20 extend. The pins 29 are secured to downwardly extending projections of the spider I2, whereby the feet are attached by pin-and-slot pivotal connection to the main frame of the apparatus.

By virtue of the pivotal connection of the feet both to the thrust rod and to the projections 21 of the frame spider 12, the feet may be moved back and forth between a lateral position for supporting the bottom of a stack of cfoil's surrounding the spacers l3 (as shown in Fig 2') and a vertical retracted position in which they may be inserted into or withdrawn through the center opening of a stack of coils (as shown in Fig. 3). the vertical retracted position is effected by axial movement of the thrust rod [4 upwardly with respect to the frame of the apparatus. The slots l9 lie at an angle of about to the coil-supporting edge surface of the feet, sloping downwardly and inwardly when the feet are in their lateral coil-supporting position and sloping downwardly and outwardly when the feet are in their retracted vertical position, and they are of such length as topermit the amount of sliding movement of the feet relative to the pins that is necessary to permit movement of the feet between the lateral and vertical positions.

It is evident that if the thrust rod is firmly locked at its lowest limit of travel with respect to the tubular frame member 20, the feet 15 will be securely held in their lateral coil-supporting position (i. e. the position shown in Fig. 2) whether or not the apparatus is resting on a floor. Locking of the thrust rod at its lower limit of travel is accomplished in the'apparatus shown in the drawings by the provision of a pair (or more) of latches '22 fastened by pivot pins 23 to a boss 24 rigidly connected to the upper end 'of the tubular frame member Ill. The latches 22 are provided with latch hooks 25 above the boss 24, and with downwardly extending projections 26 below the boss. The downwardly extending projections areof sufiicient wight'so'as normally to swing the latch hooks 25 laterally outwardl to the position shown in Fig. 3. The latches may, however, be rocked on their pivot pins 23 so as to cause the latch hooks 25 to engage with the upper surface of a latch plate 21 secured to the upper end of the thrustrod M (which position of the latches is shown in Fig. 2).

The apparatus is provided with a lifting head 28, more or less inthe shape of a mushroom head, which is slidably mounted 'on the tubular frame member Ill between a lower position where it rests against a collar 23 firmlyattached to the tubular 'member lfl and an upper position in whichit is in engagement with'the boss 24. The upper portion of the lifting head 28 is formed with an annular cam surface 30, and the'l'ower projections 26 of the latches 2 2 are formed'with corresponding cam surfaces 3|. As the lifting head 28 is raised to its upper position, the'cam s'urfac'es'3l! and 3| come into engagement and the latch hooks 25 are forced inwardly into position for interlocking with the latch plate 21, thereby to lock the thrust rod M at its lower limit of travel and to hold the feet 15 in their lateral coil-supporting position. When the lifting head 28 is not raised, his held by its own Movement of the feet from the lateral to weight at its lower position in contact with the collar 29, thereby enabling the latches to be swung away, by the weight of their lower pro jection 26, from interlocking engagement with the latch plate 21 on the thrust rod.

The undersurface of the lifting head 28 is formed with an annular groove 32 in which prongs 33 of lifting tongs 34 may engage. When the apparatus, with its feet l5 in the lateral po sition shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is lifted from the floor by engaging the tongs 34 with the lifting head and then raising it, the lifting head is first brought to its upper position in which it forces the latches 22 into interlocking engagea ment with the latch plate 2'! at the upper end of the thrust rod. Thereafter, with continued lifting by the tongs 34, the entire apparatus is raised from the fioor with the feet [5 still held in their lateral coil-supporting position, and consequently any stack of coils positioned about the spacers l3 and resting on the feet I5 is lifted and may be transported as a unit by the crane or other apparatus from which the tongs 34 are suspended.

In order to withdraw the apparatus from a stack of coils, a lifting cap 35 is attached to'the thrust rod ['4 just above the latch plate 21. The lifting cap 35, like the lifting head 28, is;simi lar in shape to a mushroom ,head, and is provided with an annular groove "35a. "in its undersurface so that it may be engaged by the lifting tongs 234. So long as the lifting head '28 is not held in its raised position by the lifting tongs or other means, it is held by -its1own weight at its lower position in which the latches 22 are released from interlocking engagement with the latch plate 21. Consequently if the apparatus is lifted by engaging the tongs -34 with the lifting cap 35 and then raising-it, the thrustrod is first drawn upwardly through the tubular member H) to its upper limit of travel. Therebythefeet I5 are brought to their vertical retracted positions, and b continuing lifting of the apparatus in'this manner, it may be withdrawn through the center 'ofthe stackof coils.

so long as the apparatus remains-suspended by engagement of the liftin cap 35 with the crane hook 'or other lifting device, it remains with "its feet in their retracted vertical Jposi v tions. When the apparatus is againlowered to the floo'r, it is necessarythat the feet=once-again assume their lateral coil-supporting position. For this purpose, the outer legs 36 of the feet are provided with'smoothly'rounded projections '31. These projections are so-locatedand shaped that when the feet are "in the vertical retract ed position, the outer edge surfaces :38 0f the outer legs 36 slope inwardly and-upwardly. When the apparatus with its. legs in their vertical positions is loweredto the floor, it is these projections which first make contact with the floor, "as shown in'Fig. 3. Thenas the weight of the apparatus is release d'by thecrane-or other lifting device, it is at first transmitted to the feet through the pivot pins l1,'causin ;the feet to swing c'Jutwardly about the pins 20 to their lateralcoil supp'orting positions. The smoothly rounded projections 3'1, "and the upward and inward slope of the "edges3'8 of theouterlegs of the feet,-'facilitate slidingof the feet along the floor. as' this motion takes place. Finally, the apparatusrco-rnes torest with the feet :'in the position shownin Fig. 2. I

In the form of apparatus shown in Fig. 5, the feet l5 are provided with modifiedouter-legs supporting? position .when the'apparatusiis lowcilitate outward movement of. the-=.:-f eet from the vertical 1 retracted; position to izthe lateral; coilered'ftolthe.fioonil 2* V. 1 An advantagevofthe new .app'aratusi is :the

ease with which it 1 permits introducing a stack therefromr as illustrated schematicallyin Fig; Itisa-laborious anddifficult job to load the coils manually intosuch a vessel, and amore difficult one 'still to thus removethem-therefrom, but I avitlrzithexnew iapparatus loading; andyunloading of the barrel is veryeasily accomplished.,- The bottom o f -.z,the.barrel is providedjwith a series of b1oc1 s'42'"spaced apart circumferentially so as to permit the feet l5 of the apparatus to extend between them. Whenastack 43=ofc0ils isloweredby the apparatus into the barrel M, the bottom of the stack comes to rest on the blocks 42, and thereafter the apparatus may be lifted by the cap to withdraw it through the center of the stack. To remove the stack from the barrel, the apparatus is lowered, while suspended by the cap 35, through the center of the stack, and when it comes torest on the bottom of the barrel, the feet assume their lateral positions in the manner previously described. Thereafter, the entire stack may be withdrawn from the barrel by lifting the apparatus by means of the lifting head 32.

1 In addition to its advantage for handling stacks of coils in the close confines of pickling barrels and the like, the new apparatus has many advantageous uses in handling coiled materials wherever such materials are manufactured, processed, or stored.

I claim;

1. Apparatus for handlin coiled materials comprising a frame adapted toserve as a supporting core for a stack of coils, a plurality of feet pivotally connected to the coil frame at the bottom thereof, said feet being movable porting position; a vertically; movablect'hrust rod for locking ;it at itsylower limit, thereby-holding the feet intheir lateral position, and when .the apparatus is carried .by "the: lifting .mean's vate tach'edi to the' thrust rod. the latter is held :at its upper limit, thereby holding the feet in their vertical retracted -position;

-.-J2. In coil-handling apparatus of the character described, a frame, feet pivotally secured to the frame andzimovable through an arc betweenua vertical retracted position and a lateralrcoil-sup pivotally secured :tos-aid feet, said rod beingmovza ble between anupper limit in which it holds the feet in their vertical retracted.) position and a lower limit inwhich it holds ,the feetiinitlieir' whereby when the apparatus is lifted by said about their pivotal connections to the frame 7 between a lateral position wherein they project beyond the frame for supporting the bottom of a stack of coils and a vertical position wherein they are retracted from such coil-supporting position, a thrust rod vertically movable with respect to the frame between upper and lower limits and pivotally connected at its lower end to said feet, whereby movement of the thrust when the thrust rod is moved downwardly with and to be moved thereby into locking relation I with the thrust rod when the lifting head is raised to its upper position, and" lifting means attached directly to the upper end of the thrust rod for raising it to its upper limit and for carrying the apparatus, whereby when the apparatus is carried by the lifting head the latter is raised to its upper position and the latches are moved into engagement with the thrust rod lifting head the latches are moved into interlocking engagement with the thrust rod and the feet thereby are held in their lateral coil-supporting position, and separate lifting means secured di tact therewith, and further characterized in thatv the latches are provided with cam surfaces cor- I responding to the cam face of the lifting head,

Wherebylifting of the head causes the cam facethereof to engage with the cam surfaces of the latches andmove the latches into position for interlocking with the thrust rod.

4. Coil-handling apparatus of the character described comprising a central frame member, an axial thrust rod movable vertically with respect thereto, a plurality of feet each of which is pivotally connected at its inner end to the thrust rod and each of which is pivotally attached by pin-and-slot connection to the frame at a position substantially radially outwardly from the pivotal connection to the thrust rod, "whereby respect to the frame the feet are moved pivotally to a substantially lateral coil-supporting position, and when the thrust rod is moved upwardly with respect to the frame the feet are moved pivotally to a vertical retracted position. 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that each foot is a shallow inverted U- shaped member the inner leg of which is pivotally connected to the thrust rod and the outer leg of whichprovides support for thelfoot when the I apparatus is resting on a floor with the feet in their lateral coil-supporting positions.

6. Apparatus according toclaim 5, characterized in that-the slot of the pin-and-slot connection between each foot and the frame is formed in the inner leg "of the foot and slopes downwardly and outwardly when the foot is in its vertical retracted position and slopes downwardly and inwardlywhen the foot is in its lateral coilemes supporting position, whereby the weight or the apparatus when it is resting on a floor with the feet in. the vertical retracted position tends to forcerthe feet to the lateral coil-supporting position. r

7. Apparatus according to claim v6, characterized in that the outer edge surface of the outer leg of each foot slopes inwardly and upwardly when such foot is in the vertical retracted p651- -tion, thereby to facilitate movement of the foot to the lateral coil-supporting position under the. influence of the weight of the apparatuswhen it rests on a floor with the feet in the vertical retracted position. 1

8. Coil-handling apparatus of the character described comprising a central frame member, a thrust rod movable vertically with respect thereto,.a pluralit of feet each of which is pivotally connected at its inner end to the thrust rod and each of which is pivotally connected to,

20 the frame at a position substantially radially outwardly from the pivotal connection to the thrust rod, wherehy when the thrust rodismos/Iadidmvil wardly with iflespect t6 theofiairie vthe feet are moved pivot-ally to "a;substantially,lateraLmoiL supporting position, :and. 'whenthe thrust;;rod is moved upwardly with respect to; .thecframe the feet are fiioved pivotally to arvertical- !ree tracted position, and a rolleraattachedeto the outer end of each foot, whereby'when the apparatus rests on a floor with its feet ,in the. vertical retracted position movement of the feetialong the floor'to their lateral coilesupporting,positions, is facilitated. -:.'.j r GEORGE EBRQ. SON .5

REFERENCES CITED'Q The following references are of record 'in the file of this patent: I =1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Holmquist Sept. 30,1919 

